The Stippled Bone
by TScribe
Summary: Bones and Booth realize their feelings for each other...Sully re-enters the picture...things get hot...and complicated...
1. Chapter 1

The Stippled Bone

Chapter I

The halls of the Jeffersonian were silent and a single light flickered in the hallway leading up to the entrance to Tempe's office. The transitory luminescence revealed the reposed shadow of an exhausted Temperance Brennan cheek down on her desk with pen and bone in hand and the soft glow of the computer monitor casting ghostly shadows around her slumped body.

She fell asleep in the midst of cataloging bone number 548-32. It was the metacarpal bone of a young Caucasian male. This finger bone was just one bone in a pile of hundreds that came from a mass grave near Machu Piccu. Temperance worked through the night trying to make crude identifications of the remains which were sent to the Institute weeks earlier. She kept the bones in her office and worked on them when she found time. Things were slow and lately she found herself spending many sleepless nights working. The recurring dreams of Booth were taking their toll. She began to focus more and more on her box of bones. The bones were more than 600 years old so they were low priority for the Jeffersonian's elite forensic team who focused mainly on recent crimes and body identifications.

Booth walked up to the door of her office and hesitated. He was about to knock when he realized that she was sleeping. He stood in the doorway and quietly watched her as she slept. He thought about her so often now that he was sure his heart rate doubled whenever they were in the same room together. But now with her sleeping alone at her desk and completely unaware that he was next to her, he felt comforted and at ease with her.

He wanted, so many times, to tell her how he felt but the moment was never quite right. He swallowed hard and walked over to her. He sat down in the chair next to her and he was about to wake her when he noticed the manuscript of her new book in the tray on her desk. It was not the usual neat pile of paper that comprised her finished book drafts but looked tattered and worn as though it had been read and re-written a hundred times over.

Booth puzzled over the manuscript and looked at the sleeping beauty in front of him. He could smell her soft scent. It was a scent that was distinctly hers and he'd never smelled it anywhere else or on anyone else and it mystified him. He took it in and closed his eyes for a minute and wondered what it would be like to hold her. He picked up the manuscript and flipped through the pages and they flopped open, hard to a section in the middle where a small wallet sized picture of him fell out from between the pages.

Booth reached down and picked up the picture wondering where or when it was taken. Booth read the page. "_she kissed him, apprehensively, at first then caught herself giving in to her deepest desire which was to be with him completely. She melted into the kiss and her lips trembled at the surrender. She was terrified and ecstatic. Her kiss deepened and when he pulled her closer and ran his fingers up the back of her neck and through her long hair, the sensation of his touch made her moan and she pulled away to catch her breath." _Booth closed the manuscript and put it back in the tray. He wanted so badly to make this passage real. He felt vindicated after reading it. He was sure now that Bones felt the same way and he wanted to show her how he felt.

He wanted to show her what he was feeling now and what he'd been feeling for a long time. The passage made his blood boil with desire.

He quietly wheeled his chair so that he sat directly behind Bones. She stirred slightly. He rubbed the back of her neck and slowly raked his fingers through her hair and up along her scalp. She leaned her head back into his massage still half asleep as if entranced by his touch.

His hands lowered and wrapped around her neck until his fingers nestled in the triangular gullet of her throat. He moved his hands down to her shoulders and around to her shoulder blades where they rested there and his thumb applied soft pressure to the nape of her neck and middle of her back. She sighed, "Oh Booth." With this assertion, something stirred in him.

He brought both hands back up to her neck and leaned in pulling her hair to one side. "Bones." His voice was barely a whisper. She turned around. Her eyes were still closed and still entranced. She sat up in her chair and opened her mouth slightly. Her chest heaved up and down as her breathing became more rapid. She pulled herself towards Booth and whispered something too low to understand. Her eyes searched feverishly for something underneath her closed lids, they moved back and forth rapidly searching. Booth, unable to hold back, kissed her deeply and she melted into his kiss with equal fervor. Booth felt a rush of love and release.

He wanted this more than anything. When they broke from each other he could see that her eyes were still closed. His face was wet with warm tears that ran down the sides of her face. She was sobbing. His heart sank. He sensed that she was still sleeping, trapped in some urgent dream and whatever the dream was it was hurting her somehow. Giving herself to him, even this small part of herself, somehow both released her and tormented her in parallel. Booth hesitated at the thought, _"Could she be sleeping still?"_ He felt disheartened at the thought. "Bones." He whispered her name and then again a little louder.

Her head was resting on his chest. She opened her eyes. "Booth?" He exhaled and looked downward now sure that she must have been sleeping. She was kissing him in her sleep or in a dream. She gathered herself together and abruptly turned away from him. She grabbed a cleanex and wiped her face. "I'm sorry Booth..Please..I was..I was..just taking a break." Booth got up and walked around to the front of her office and sat down on the couch in front of her desk. He needed to see her face. He needed to collect himself. His voice cracked, "no Bones..I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just."He couldn't finish." She interrupted, "Do we have a case Booth?"

Angela was standing by the door and witnessed everything. She knew that Tempe was having recurring nightmares but had long since stopped trying to get her to talk about them. They talked about everything but Tempe would never divulge what the dreams were about. Angela could only console her when she woke up screaming or sobbing uncontrollably.

Somehow she suspected that it had to be about Booth. How could she expect her friend to admit to her something she could not even admit to herself? Angela saw the disappointed look on Booth's face but could do or say nothing. She walked back to her lab passing Hodgins in the hallway. Hodgins asked, "Hey is Brennan in there?" "She is but I think you'd better give her a minute." He continued on and Angela stopped him with a hand to his chest. "She's with Booth." Hodgins looked at Angela and his brow furrowed. "Do you mean she's "with" him as in "with" Booth? Finally those two.." He didn't wait for Angela to answer but before he went any further with his assumptions Angela stopped him. "No not that kind of "with."

They're in there and I think they're having a private conversation so I didn't interrupt." Hodgins paused and replied, "a private conversation? I remember when we used to have a lot of "private conversations." Angela smacked Hodgins on the arm. "C'mon lover boy lets go have a private conversation with the residue found on this usb drive." Hodgins, successfully diverted, turned toward her. "I love it when you talk residue."

Booth sat on the sofa resting his forearms on his knees and clasped his hands together with fingers intertwined. He thought to himself, "I can't let this go. I'm not going to let this go." He looked up at Bones who was still collecting herself.

She pulled her hair back and began straightening the things on her desk in front of her in anticipation of the upcoming case. Booth didn't know how to approach the subject. He tapped his fingertips together and asked, "You were crying Bones. Why?" Bones still pulling herself together pulled her chair away from her desk and retorted, "What, no, Booth you misinterpreted my tears as an emotional response but I assure you it was merely an involuntary glandular release triggered by a sudden change in light intensity or some other stimuli. I was asleep that's all."

She stood up abruptly and tried to walk past but Booth caught her by the wrist and pulled her down onto the sofa next to him. He was not going to let this go the way he had so many times before.

"Bones you were asleep and asleep and you were sobbing in your sleep. Voluntary or not there is something wrong." Bones could feel herself beginning to shake and didn't want Booth to see her like this. Booth held on tighter to her hand. "Please. Do you trust me?" "Yes." She replied. Her voice weakened. "I do trust you." "Then talk to me."

She took a deep breath and without making eye contact she replied. "I have these..these..dreams Booth." He tightened his grip. "I..I..can't do this now Booth..not here..please." He put her hand to his chest near his heart. A gesture he hoped she would understand. "Later." She said pulling her hand away slowly and nodding her head. But she spent the remainder of the day avoiding the topic and avoiding physical contact with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

It had been three days since Booth kissed Bones in her office. Things were starting to get awkward between them and Booth wanted to get her alone so that he could straighten things out. Since she was avoiding him in the lab or continuously surrounded by her colleagues he had to somehow get her alone when they were outside the Jeffersonian. Their latest case was a human skeleton found in the basement of the Library of Congress in their compact storage room. They decided to meet each other on the ground floor.

They took the elevator down to compact storage which was housed down a long dark corridor in the bowels of the library. It wasn't hard to imagine that a murder could take place there or that a skeleton could lay undiscovered for such a long time.

Booth was taken back by how Bones carried on as though nothing had transpired between them. The two of them crowded each other on the tiny elevator and the closeness though awkward was still comforting to Booth. It was the closest he'd been to her since that day in her office. Bones tried to shield her discomfort by chattering on about the anthropological significance of libraries and physical repositories of knowledge and the famous Egyptian library at Alexandria. Booth angrily pushed the button for the elevator door to close and the abruptness of this action made her stop talking. The rest of the ride down to the basement was in awkward silence.

When the elevator door opened agent Sully was standing before them.

Booth and Bones were both shocked by Sully's presence. She had not seen Sully in over 2 years and had only briefly communicated with him through postcards. Booth greeted Sully with a friendly but disparaging "hello." Booth glanced back at Bones so see the expression on her face. She was elated. Sully gave Tempe a huge hug and sized her up and they started to catch up on their way to the crime scene.

"I'm with the NSA now Tempe." Bones, clearly impressed, responded. "Wow, Sully, the NSA, that's great." Booth interrupted, "Yeah, great, really great and all but we're here to investigate.." Sully interrupted, "Yeah Tempe let's catch up later over dinner. I'm here to investigate a skull that was found here." Booth turned and objected. "No we're here to investigate a skull. You guys are just here because of the NSA classified documents found in the skeleton's bag."

Sully smiled and retorted, "I see you haven't changed Booth." Booth paused, "No. I haven't!"

Bones and Booth returned with Sully to the Jeffersonian where they were greeted by Hodgins and Angela. Cam overheard the commotion in the lab and interrupted the reunion. "Sully, my god you're back." Cam and Angela looked at Booth then at each other with a knowing glance. They knew that Booth must be annoyed over Sully's return.

Bones, leaning over a lab bench with Wendell, started analyzing the skeletal remains. Wendell started, "based on the cranial sutures and the rib morphology I would estimate the person was between the ages of 25 and 30." Bones chimed in, "The stippling pattern in the long bones are typical of a rare genetic abnormality. This person would have an extensive medical history. We should look at hospital records."

Bones took a closer look at the long bone of the right leg. "Hodgins, take a look at this." There was something embedded in the leg bone. Hodgins, intrigued by the idea of secret NSA documents and now a possible embedded anomaly, pulled out his magnifying glass to take a closer look. "I need to put this under the scope." He took the entire leg bone away and came back a few minutes later. "This is some type of computerized microstorage device surrounded by an inert residue, probably to keep the body from rejecting it post-implantation." Somebody went through a lot of trouble for this.

Bones held up the tiny device. "Hodgins, can you analyze the residue and give the chip to Angela. Maybe we can get some information off of the chip.

Sully pulled out his NSA badge and officially classified all findings. "Everything has to be cleared prior to removal from the Jeffersonian. From this point on, Wendell, I'm sorry but you cannot be involved directly with this case." Bones looked confused. "Wait, Sully, how did you know that Wendell wasn't cleared yet?" Sully turned to Tempe, putting his badge back in his wallet. "I know everything about everyone at the Jeffersonian Tempe." He glanced at her for a moment, and then looked at Booth with a knowing glance. "The NSA will be notified of any new findings." Sully looked at Bones before leaving. "We'll catch up soon Tempe."

Two weeks later and still working the case, Sully went to Booth's office. "Booth, can I come in and talk to you?" Booth, annoyed with Sully, closed the files on his desk. "That depends. What would you like to take now? You've already taken over my case." He was loosely implicating Bones in the acquisition as well since he was sure that they were seeing each other regularly now over the past week.

Sully sat down in the chair across from Booth. "Tempe has these episodes in her sleep." Booth visibly uncomfortable and disturbed by this disclosure stopped Sully immediately. "I don't want to talk about your sex life with my partner Sully." Booth was fuming at Sully's utter disregard for her privacy. Sully leaned back in his chair, clearly distraught. He exhaled deeply. "Booth, have you read her latest manuscript."

Booth turned in his chair trying to figure out how he wanted to answer and how to get Sully out of his hair. "I've read parts of it." Sully leaned forward. "I read a small part of it last night while she was sleeping. Booth, already upset that Sully was in his office talking intimately about Bones was now visibly angry. Sully continued unrestrained. "I was conceited enough to think the guy in her book was me but it's not."

Booth, now feeling a little less angry, relaxed and asked, "Who do you think it is?"

Sully, clearly upset now said, "I think it's a composite of a few people including me." "Regardless of who it is, I can't be with her Booth. I don't think Tempe was ever with me really. I know she wanted to be but it was something she forced. It wasn't real and I know that now."

Booth, unsure of what to say, asked Sully to give it some thought. "I wouldn't read a whole lot into her books Sully. They're mosh ups of a lot of people. I don't think she's writing about anyone in particular."

Sully stood up. His eyes were red and Booth pretended not to notice but it was obvious he'd been crying. He was a guy and a man's man but even he knew that real men do cry. Sully walked to the door and turned to Booth. "I know Tempe Booth. I know her; do you know what I mean? This book is tearing her apart. It's giving her horrible nightmares." Booth stood up too. "Then why leave her now? Why leave her when she needs you?"

Sully turned to Booth. "It's not me she needs. I'm leaving again. That's why I'm here. I'm going to New York Booth. She's going to need someone...someone close to her." With that, he left.

Booth was angry that Sully was leaving Bones like this. He knew she would be hurt but that she would try to conceal it. He left intending on going home and giving her the space she wanted but instinctively drove to her place instead.

Bones was rummaging through her closet looking for the sleek black dress she'd worn at the museum benefit. Booth had given her a look that night that made her feel sexy and she wanted to look and be sexy for Sully who was picking her up for dinner. She heard a knock at the door and quickly put on the black heels and gave herself one last glance in the mirror. When she opened the door, it wasn't Sully but Booth standing in front of her.

"Booth, what's wrong." She looked behind him expecting Sully to walk up at any moment. "I'm meeting Sully for dinner Booth. Is there a break in the case?" Booth's heart sank. She was so beautiful and he wanted to strangle Sully right now for leaving. "Sully is gone Bones. He left."

Bones turned away. She knew in her heart that he meant gone as in gone for good. "I don't...I don't understand. You saw him?" Booth came inside and shut the door behind him. "He came to see me tonight Bones." She knew the moment would come when Sully would leave and thought she would be hurt by it but she wasn't. She was relieved. She walked over to the sofa and sat down. Booth followed her. Booth, searching for what he wanted to say, turned to her grabbing her by the hand. "He doesn't deserve you Bones."

Bones moved her hands away, pulling her hair back. "Who does? Who deserves to be with someone like me Booth? I'm not a person someone falls in love with." She stared down at one of the two glasses of wine she poured earlier (meant for her and Sully). She picked up one of the glasses but Booth took the glass from her and replaced it on the table before she could sip. He looked deep into her eyes and held both of her hands. She looked down, inspecting her palms.

Finally, Booth could say what he'd wanted to tell her for so long. He told her what he hoped she already knew. "I love you Bones. I'm in love with you."

He put his hand on her chin cupping it slightly. He kissed her lightly and waited for her to return the kiss. She hesitated but kissed him gently. She cupped his head with both hands and caressed his cheeks and ran her fingers through his hair. The kiss grew more urgent. She'd dreamed about this moment many times but never felt it would happen. She remembered how badly she wanted him at the museum. She was sure they would kiss that night. She wanted to kiss him so badly. She did love Booth. She was sure of this much but she was afraid to love him. She didn't want things to change between them but her feelings were so strong that it became harder and harder to be around Booth without wanting him. She felt weakened by him, for needing him so much. His touch was so gentle and calming. In her dreams, she gave herself completely to Booth but there was nothing to lose in a dream. She felt safe but remained guarded. Now she wondered as the soft velvet of his tongue slid smoothly against hers, if she could go there again, to that place, in her mind and body that only existed in her dreams.

Booth relished in the warmth of her embrace. He was reserved and knew that her guard was up even now. He knew that it would take time and he didn't want to move too fast. Bones thought about Angela's comment about being too guarded and afraid to fall in love and give in to trusting someone completely. She thought about this and it bothered her. She wanted to dip her foot into the untested waters of surrender and decided that now with Booth she would try. She pulled him closer and deepened the kiss. Booth, taken back by her sudden verve, tried to draw back to slow things down but she would not release him. Her tongue imprisoned him in a sultry dance around the perimeter of his mouth. His core vibrated with desire for her. Under her increased passion, he resigned to give her mouth and body his full attention.

He'd dreamed of this moment so many times. His body was aching now under the touch of the sensuous woman in front of him. Her hands traced the ripple of muscle beneath his shirt. She pulled it free of the tuck and undid his belt. Booth moved his hands along the curves of her body finally resting one on her breast and the other around her waist. They were lying face to face on the sofa now and Bones slid her body up and down and side to side along his growing erection. She smiled as he moaned beneath her, and guided her to control the pressure of her weight on his pulsing muscle. "Bones." He choked out her name. She smiled and relished the control she had over him. She loved the control she suddenly realized she had over him. The blood rushed through his body like liquid fire. He wanted her now. He grabbed her by the hips and lifted himself and her off the sofa and carried her to the bedroom. He pulled off her dress in one motion. It went over her head, through her arms and onto the floor. He wanted their first time to be special, not rushed. He slowed things down to prolong his time with her.

He sat next to her and admired her well toned body. She lay flat on the bed. "Are you going to join me?" She stretched out her body across the bed. He didn't need an invitation. He lay next to her and looked deeply into her eyes. With Bones, the eyes were everything. He fixed his gaze on her dark eyes and without looking away or allowing her to look away, he removed her bra and underwear. His eyes were momentarily diverted when he caressed her breasts cupping and kissing them. He returned his gaze. While searching the depths of her eyes, he thrust his tongue deeply into her mouth and slid it along hers. He swirled her tongue around in an erotic dance that ended with capturing her bottom lip between the folds of his own two lips. He suckled her lips and tongue always looking deeply into her eyes. In the midst of suckling her mouth and breasts he fixed his gaze upon her once again and took his free hand and thrust his fingers deep into her moist center. She moaned fervently. Her eyes rolled back and closed. He had her. He slid his thumb along her tiny pink mound and deepened his kisses capturing her breath from her so breathing was labored. The deprivation of air only heightened her arousal as he released his hold on her mouth just long enough for her to take a gasp of air. Her body began to shake with the need to release. She wanted him to enter her. She needed to feel him throbbing hard inside of her. Booth thumbed her hardening mound and her body screamed. Her body began to shake uncontrollably and reverberated like the string of a violin.

When he entered her, her moist womb tightened around his hard muscle and it was almost painful for him. He gasped and closed his eyes. Bones put both hands on his chest holding him off. She wanted to keep him from thrusting fully into her for fear he would hurt her. He grabbed both of her wrists with one hand. "Do you trust me Bones?" She nodded and replied weakly, "yes." Booth lay still only a partially inside of her. He showered her with kisses and adulations. "You're beautiful Bones."

He wanted her so badly now that it became a physical pain to hold back. His tongue sensuously kissed her mouth and teased her tongue out its hiding place. He suckled her lips and pushed himself a little further inside of her. She moaned and her heart raced in her chest. Her body began to shake again. She called his name. "Booth." The sound of his name on her lips aroused him deeply and he thrust fully into her. Unable to control himself he repeated the assault. She grabbed him by the hips and pulled him into her. Her womb contracted around his hard muscle holding on to each thrust. Booth's body spasmed as he released into her. Her release was concurrent to his own and was so complete and intense with feeling that it caused her eyes to tear. She sobbed uncontrollably and her body did not stop shaking for a full hour. Booth held her and they lay quietly until she fell asleep.

He felt complete for the first time. She held on to him tightly as they slept. If she had the dreams again, Booth would be there. She felt safe with him. She didn't think the nightmares would rob her sleep again.

Booth woke up in the middle of the night to Bones calling out his name. He watched her and held her close. Her restlessness turned violent and she, once again, started screaming. He held her closer. She woke up sobbing. She held on tightly to Booth and through her sobbing found his lips. She kissed him urgently and straddled him on the bed. Booth returned her kissed with equal urgency. If this was what she needed now, he was going to give it without question. They made love again for the second time. He wondered if she loved him as much as he loved her. He wondered about her book and the nightmares but tonight he would just hold her and hold on to the moment. They would talk tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

The sun peaked through the blinds of the window and streaked beams across the room and warmed over Booth as he lay outstretched on the bed, his arms extended over his head. He opened his eyes and turned to where he expected to find Bones lying next to him. The bed was cold. Booth felt a sinking feeling deep in his chest. She'd left before he could hold her and reassure her that their night together was not a mistake and before he could confess more affirmations of his love for her. She was gone and Booth felt empty and afraid that she was, once again, running away from him.

The squints were gathered around Angela's computer, eyes glued to the screen at a long continuous string of letters. Booth walked in behind them and searched the group for Bones. When he saw that she was not among them he queried, "Is this from the microchip?" Angela turned to Booth. "It's a code. I did some research Booth and it's the unsolved portion of the Kryptos code. You know the sculpture code installed on the grounds of the CIA?"

Booth interrupted, "It's a code within a code. It took the CIA 8 years to break it. The fourth section of the Kryptos is still unsolved but you have to have all 4 sections completely and correctly solved in order to solve the embedded code. None of this is classified so what's the big deal. Why would this person carry around a code anyone can download on a surgically implanted microchip? It doesn't make any sense."

Angela projected on a large computer monitor, the printed pages of the coded text. There were four coded ciphers and three decoded messages for the first three ciphers. Then there was an eighth piece of paper that Angela scanned and projected. It also contained a string of letters. It was ripped in half and written in red ink. Cam asked. "So what's this one?"

Before anyone could answer, Hodgins chimed, "I'll bet it's the fourth cipher decoded and re-encrypted to protect the encrypted message."

Bones walked in without anyone noticing and added to Hodgins conclusions, "or it was re-encrypted to protect the process that was used to decrypt it. This code was (and possibly still is) one of the most unbreakable codes since the Enigma. It would be incredibly valuable to governments, banks, and software companies to say the least. It's definitely a motive for murder."

Booth looked for some hint of anger, doubt, or angst in Bones. There was nothing. She was really good at compartmentalizing, a trait that Booth found, not objectionable, but annoying. He commended anyone who could effectively separate emotion from their work. He commended them, but he was not one of them. He couldn't so easily hide his feelings.

Booth, annoyed by her indifference, grabbed her by the back of the arm just below her shoulder. She yelled, "Booth, what are you doing?" She turned to the squints who didn't offer any help or require any explanation from Booth. They kept on doing what they do.

"Bones I need to talk to you." He hurried her out of Angela's lab and into her office shutting the door behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok Please review this chapter and let me know what you think. If you like it, too short, too long, not enough meat and potatoes, etc. It seems like a happy ending but wait till next chapter. Things get complicated. **

Chapter IV

Brennan grabbed her messy manuscript from the tray on her desk and possessively clutched it to her chest with both arms. She had suspicions that Booth read some of it when she wasn't around.

"Booth. What it is? I have work to do on the Riddler case." Booth laughed and scratched his head.

"The Riddler? Like Batman's nemesis?" Brennan turned up her brow, "I don't know what that means."

Booth explained. "You know, riddle me this riddle me that.." Brennan interrupted, "that?" She was pointing to a tiny box Booth had in his hand. Booth exhaled, exasperated. "No Bones, never mind." Booth got a serious look on his face as he clutched the box and remembered why he wanted to talk to Brennan alone.

He paced the room nervously. Brennan watched him intently but stopped herself short of making a comment. She knew what Booth wanted to talk about or at least she thought she knew. She had to leave his bedside to gather herself and get control of the situation. She didn't want her emotions to cloud over her voice of reason. Her feelings for Booth were stronger than anything she'd ever felt before short of finding her mother's body and seeing her dad again. She needed to distance herself from the rush of emotion so that she could rationalize their relationship and put things in perspective.

Booth stopped himself from pacing and walked with a sudden calmness over to Brennan. He grabbed her by both hands and looked her deadpan in the eyes. He was hesitant to ask the question that had been burning in his head all morning but he swallowed deeply then asked. "Are you having second thoughts about us Bones?" Do you regret what happened?"

Brennan searched his eyes for signs of hurt. They burned deep into her and she thought for a moment about how to respond. "No Booth, I don't regret anything that happened between us, but.." She stopped.

"But what?" He insisted. She sank deeply into the chair behind her desk but he caught her by the forearm and pulled her to her feet and closer to him so that they were nearly touching. She looked away. "I just don't think we should do this Booth. I mean I think it will affect our partnership in a negative way. Your feelings for me will slow your response time and cloud your judgment because you will think of me in a more protective way. That could have profound effects on our partnership, our safety, and the safety of those around us."

Booth put pulled her close and hugged her tightly. He confessed, "Bones, I didn't just fall in love with you. I've been in love with you." I've had feelings for you for a while now and it has not affected our partnership. It's made it better." I'm not going to let you walk away from this Bones."

He walked her over to the couch in her office and they both sat down. Bones, taken back by his confession, confessed her own secret. "Booth, I've had feelings for you too. Feelings so strong that they scare me and I can't promise..I don't know if I can do this."

Booth opened the little box and took out his military ring. "I want to give you this Bones. It's a symbol of everything that I've been through and everything that I've…he paused…everything that I've done good and bad. You and only you know these things about me. It's the honest and truest part of me and I'm giving this to you Bones. I can't lose you. The harder you push, the tighter I'll hold on."

She took the ring from him and put it on her thumb. Tears escaped the corner of her eyes and streaked mascara down her cheek. She looked down at the ring and fingered over the gemstone. Booth repeated, "the harder you push.." Bones caught his lips and kissed him lightly. She looked into his dark eyes and responded, "I'm not pushing."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

Angela and Hodgins knocked on the inside panel of the door to Brennan's office startling both her and Booth who were breaking from an exuberant kiss. "We think we found something."

Angela had been trolling the blogosphere and found a site where puzzlers go to chat and brag about puzzles they've solved. The site attracted everyone from armchair Sudoku solvers to genuine code breakers. The site comprised mostly of user generated puzzles that utilized elaborate code technology that gave even the world's smartest mathematicians and computer programmers a run. Angela spread out a copy of a comment string that originated from a user called "Gotcha."

Hodgins explained, "This is from a section of the puzzler site that is only accessible after you correctly solve a riddle. The riddle also changes once 100 people have accessed the site and answered correctly. This hidden part of the website is dedicated to users who try to solve government sponsored puzzles...you know the puzzles that the NSA and CIA put in the back of supermarket tabloids." Brennan and Booth looked incredulously at Hodgins.

"What? It's true." "They do it so they can catch the next code breaker genius..." Booth laughed. "Does the next code breaker genius wear a housecoat and snoop on her neighbors?" Hodgins looked at Booth sideways and retorted, "You laugh but the zodiac killer's code was solved by a retired school teacher over a hot cup of coffee."

Brennan flipped through the pages. It looks like these two users, Gotcha, and this other person (represented by an avatar only) went back and forth about a puzzle that appeared in last months Star magazine. Something about an "obvious" NSA puzzle that was the last marker of an important CIA code. The two of them appeared to be working on it together but then the conversation ends with this guy represented by this picture here (Brennan points to the avatar of two wooden boat docks on a shoreline) saying that this code was going to get them both killed. Brennan started laughing hysterically. Angela, Hodgins, and Booth looked at her with confusion. Angela put a hand on her shoulder, "Not a good time for humor sweetie."

Brennan picked up the pages and pointed to the avatar. "Get it, she pointed." It's a pair of docks, a par a dox, a paradox! That's clever. She laughed and looked at the rest of the group who were all staring at her. "What! Can't I enjoy the intellectual humor of a fellow nerd?"

Booth took the pages from Brennan shaking his head. "And you didn't get my Batman reference?" "I'll check out the NSA angle and see if anything pans out of this conspiracy theory. Booth put his hands on Hodgin's and Angela's shoulders. Good job guys. So far this is our only lead. He walked out and Brennan followed apologetically proclaiming, "I do watch Wonder woman Booth, I'm not averse to super heroes I just never watched Batman."

When they got in the car Booth started to turn the ignition but paused. "You DO watch Wonder woman Bones?" "Don't you mean you WATCHED Wonder woman, as in past tense because that show hasn't been on television in decades, unless..." He waited and looked over at Bones with a sheepish grin... "You have the DVD box set!" Bones grinned back. "Yes. Yes. Occasionally I like to curl up with a warm cup of cocoa and watch Wonder woman similar to some people who like to take bubble baths with beer hats and comic books. Booth started the car. "Touché."

"Besides," Bones continued, I have a softer spot for super heroes who choose not to wear masks to hide their identity. Booth retorted. "Look, I like Wonder woman and Superman just as much as any other superhero but you're telling me that no one could tell who Wonder woman really was just because she spun around and suddenly had on a magic leotard and headband? Or Superman could take off his glasses and suit and become unrecognizable, c'mon!"

Bones corrected Booth, "Actually Booth Superman "put on his glasses" to disguise himself not the other way around. That red cape, that blue leotard with the "s" on his chest...that was his family's crest and those were his clothes. That's how they dressed on Krypton. No, his disguise was the suit and glasses, Clark Kent was the disguise. Superman is who he really was."

Booth rolled his eyes but smiled at the insightful observation. She was right.

Booth and Brennan got back to the FBI headquarters where they searched the FBI databases for leads related to puzzle solvers. They came up empty handed.

Bones offered that they should contact the NSA. She meant that they should contact Sully specifically but she was reluctant to say his name. She knew that Booth didn't like the fact that Sully left so abruptly and she wasn't sure even of how she felt about him leaving. She wasn't sure if she had a right to be hurt by him leaving since they were not really back together and he'd been away for so long already but she did think they would get back together and pick up where they left off. She did have feelings for Sully. They were not as strong as his feelings for her. She was sure of that point but didn't want to belabor it. Now here she was with Booth and she had to wonder to herself if the same were true of him. Did he love her more than she loved him? Could she ever really love anyone whole hearted? The fact that she didn't know the answer to these questions scared her so she beat it back in her mind. She buried it underneath the other baggage that lingered from her childhood.

Booth stood contemplating in the corner of his office with both hands on his hips. He turned to Bones and with piercing eyes. "You mean call Sully don't you?" He could see straight through Bones. She felt exposed and went on the defensive. "Sully can help us with this case Booth. That's all this is about. There's a rational reason to call him and it has nothing to do with me or us." Booth's expression turned serious and his eyes went from her to the door. "Speak of the devil..." Bones turned to the door and saw that Sully was there. She released a smile.

Booth was visibly upset and Bones noticed immediately that he was angry and hurt. The smile she gave Sully turned his stomach and his heart churned at the thought of her being happy to see him. He walked out leaving the two of them alone.

Sully smiled at Bones and reached towards her to touch her cheek. Bones moved away from his grasp. He sat down in the chair opposite Booth's desk. "I guess I should explain myself." Bones demeanor turned cold and she crossed her arms tightly. A clear sign she didn't want an explanation. "I don't want to talk about us Sully. We need answers on this case. I'm guessing that's why you're here, why you came back? You have something?"

Sully didn't want to push her. He knew she would just fold and close off completely so he continued with the case and tried to squeeze in an apology along the way. He stood and walked towards her.

"We ran through the NSA database and one name kept popping up. His name is Edward Cove." Brennan asked Sully to clarify the search criteria. He was reluctant but told her about the puzzles the NSA planted in the back of magazines. Brennan joked, "Don't tell Hodgins, now he'll think all of his conspiracies are true."

Sully saw his chance. "Tempe, I'm really sorry about how I left things with us." She didn't want to hear an explanation. Truthfully, she was hurt by him abruptly taking off. It made her feel abandoned and unloved. Booth had stepped in and filled that hole so perfectly and she wanted the hole to stay filled. "It doesn't matter Sully. It doesn't matter why you left. It was what it was...a great week between two old friends."

He grabbed her hands. "It was more than that and you know it." Blood rushed to her head and her face turned red. Her eyes watered. "You should have come and talked to me then when it would have mattered Sully. I would have understood but now..." He pulled her close and cut her off with a deep kiss. She remembered how easy it was to love Sully. She didn't have to expose who she really was with him. She could hide behind the person she'd created for him. The person he fell in love with. She didn't stop the kiss. She was tired and emotionally weakened. She let the kiss happen on her lips. She didn't engage Sully or disengage him. She was just mentally without will. When they broke from the embrace Booth was standing in the doorway having witnessed everything. He felt instantly betrayed, hurt, and angry.

Booth angrily threw the folders and paper work he had in his hands down on the table near his desk. "What the hell is going on here? I leave the room for ten minutes and you two are practically making out...and in my office no less."

Bones tried to explain. "It's not what it looks like...I mean..." Booth stopped her. "Yes tell me what you mean because from my perspective it's exactly what it looks like. Tell me something else, how do you kiss your ex less than 3 hours after having kissed me?" "I mean...How do you do that to someone. What kind of person does that to somebody?"

Sully looked genuinely surprised and confused. "Wait, I didn't think that you two were..." He stopped himself. "But you two aren't..." He stopped himself again and looked at Bones. Bones looked down at the floor. Sully gathered his files and looked at Tempe. She was still looking at the floor. "I think you need to sort this out Tempe." He looked at Booth. They made brief eye contact and then he left.

Booth was visibly upset. He needed answers but his anger would not let him be rational about the situation. "What the hell are you doing Bones?" She didn't know how to respond. She choked out the words, "I'm sorry." It wasn't enough. He walked over to her and exhaled deeply. His eyes were red and glistening with moisture. He grabbed her by the hand and finger that held his ring. His voice softened. "I meant every word of this." "If you need time to figure things out that's fine. If you're not sure about us, that's fine too but tell me." "This is not ok. I can't be with you like this."

Brennan felt mentally exhausted. Tears were running down the sides of her face. "I don't know who I'm supposed to be anymore." "Why...How can you love me?" She grabbed her bag and walked out of Booths office.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok my fanfiction friends…please read and review. Does it suck…is it cheesy, stupid, etc. Thanks a bunch**

Chapter VI

Booth tried to reach Bones by cell phone and he went to her apartment several times but there was no answer. Angela admitted that she'd also been trying to reach Bones. The last message she got was that she wanted to be left alone for a few days so Angela didn't push.

Booth was frustrated. He and Angela walked to Bone's office to see if she left anything behind indicating where she may have gone. There was nothing. Angela tried to comfort Booth. "I'm sure she's just clearing her head. Give her a few days and she'll be fine. I'm going to go back to my lab. Let me know if you need anything." Angela walked out leaving Booth alone.

Booth sat at Bone's desk looking over her notes and papers hoping to find something, anything that would hint at where she went. He was about to leave when he noticed her book manuscript was in the garbage. He fished it out and put the pages in order. He remembered how he'd rescued another of her manuscripts a while back. He stacked the pages neatly and took them home with him. He was now determined to read what she'd been hiding from him, Sully, and everyone. He needed to hear her words even if they were from a work of fiction. He felt that part of her was there in that book and it was the most inaccessible part of her that he needed to comprehend.

At home, Booth anxiously sat down to read the manuscript. He read each chapter eagerly searching for some meaning or insight that would make sense of the past few weeks. Midway through he came to a chapter where Kathy is revealing to her love that she is deeply flawed. Booth traced the words with his fingers. _"I don't deserve you. I don't deserve anyone. People think that I have all the answers. I rationalize everything. It's how I am and so I know the truth because it's my job to know it. I know that...that I can't be loved. I'm not the sort of person you fall in love with. I'm not who you think I am. I'm an imitation. Yes, I love you...I love you so much that it scares me. This is me trying to be that person you want to love and I'm desperate to keep up the ruse because I want so badly for you to love me but it's all falling apart."_

Booth put the manuscript down. His heart raced. He needed to find Bones and talk to her. Finally he felt he understood her. He grabbed his coat and headed out not sure of where he would go or where he would look but instinctively he headed for her place.

Booth knocked on the door as he'd done every night. There was no answer. Unsure of where to look next he decided to pick the lock and let himself in if only to be near her things. He needed her. He needed to smell her scent and be close to her and if he couldn't find her then he would at least be close to the things that she'd touched.

He slowly and quietly picked the lock and went inside. All of the lights were off and he didn't turn any on to find his way. He wanted things to stay as she'd left them. Her red cashmere sweater was hanging over the back of the dining room chair. He picked it up and inhaled deeply taking in her scent. The smell ran through him like fire. Sadness came over him and he sank onto her couch with the sweater in hand. He felt bad about how he'd spoken to Bones. He wanted to run after her when she left the office but he was paralyzed by his own anger.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII

Bones had to get away from everyone but she couldn't abandon her work. She took her box of bones from the Machu Piccu project and retreated deep into the basement storage area of the Jeffersonian. She created a small work area, spread her bones out, and recommenced identification of her mass grave victims. She tried to forget about her conflict with Sully and Booth but she found herself re-living the incident in her head. She couldn't stop thinking about Booth. She knew that expressing raw emotion was a failing within her. Emotional reservation was so ingrained in her character that she found it impossible to push through it. "I have to overcome this." She thought to herself.

Bones contemplated as she worked; "If I do what I know scientifically to be the inevitable outcome I will hurt Booth because it will mean ending things. "We are diametrically opposed personalities and therefore we will always be at odds...in perpetual conflict so it's crazy to think it will ever work." Bones rubbed the gemstone in the ring Booth gave her. "He's attractive, strong, and intelligent and though I can't scientifically prove that he loves me, I feel that he's honest when he says he loves me and even though the idea of love is purely subjective and doesn't have any sound foundation in rational reasoning, I...think I'm experiencing love towards him as well."

She placed one of the bones under the dissection scope to take a closer look. She thought to herself. "Love is so paradoxical." She removed the bone and pulled out her magnifying glass to take a closer look at an anomaly. She suddenly had an epiphany about the Riddler case. "Oh my god! I have to call Booth!"

Sully paced the floor waiting for Booth to arrive so they could question the suspect, Edward Cove, at the headquarters of the FBI. Booth walked in and the two men exchanged glances that were neither friendly nor unfriendly. Sully offered a truce. "I didn't know the two of you were together Booth." Booth responded with uncertainty. "I'm not sure we are." Sully looked optimistic. Booth made his position clear. "That's not an invitation Sully." Sully tried to assuage Booth's fears. "Well I've been calling her for days and she hasn't responded so I think her choice is clear." Booth didn't offer that he had also tried to contact her with no success. He felt a knot develop deep in his stomach and his throat began to tighten and strain as he held back the raw emotion that threatened to surge with each breath. The thought of losing her was disassembling him to the core and he fought to hold his bearing. Booth replied, "Only Bones knows what she wants so she'll decide and that's that."

Sully turned to Booth. "You really think she knows what she wants Booth? She doesn't. When it comes to love, she's rather unstudied and a bit too rationale but she knows what I want and I love that about her. I know she didn't go sailing with me because she didn't want to leave you.

Booth looked at Sully angrily and wanted to beat the crap out of him. "She told you that's why she didn't go?"

"She didn't have to tell me. I know that's why she didn't go. It's obvious. I know her better than she knows herself because I can see vividly what she denies herself." Booth's anger was near the boiling point. "And what's that?" He asked.

Sully responded. "You. She denies herself YOU." Sully grabbed his jacket and files and walked towards the door. "I'll leave you to question the suspect."

Booth grabbed Sully by the arm. "I'm not going to push her and force her to be with me. I love her for who she is and I'm not going to force her to become someone she thinks I need her to be in order to love her."

"Are you sure you haven't already?" Sully yanked his shoulder away and walked out.


End file.
